Big Tech Authoritarianism

Is it now safer to have all those people unchallenged in their own echo chamber?

I mean, I can only speak for myself when I felt the world might have been a safer place with the two sides arguing none stop on Twitter for all to see and eat popcorn. I don't even have a Twitter account, but would have a read of a thread of comments for entertainment. What goes on is so far removed from my own "reality" I found it scary, but reassuring that it was just words on a screen. The two sides going their own ways and festering is not only less entertaining (in a morbid, watch the world burn way) but also arguably more likely to spill out into the real world when these opposing world views clash. It seems inevitable that further more bloody conflict will be coming.

Social media lol, which idiot brought this upon us all?! Grab the pitchforks!
 
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Fubsy said:
Is it now safer to have all those people unchallenged in their own echo chamber?

I mean, I can only speak for myself when I felt the world might have been a safer place with the two sides arguing none stop on Twitter for all to see and eat popcorn. I don't even have a Twitter account, but would have a read of a thread of comments for entertainment. What goes on is so far removed from my own "reality" I found it scary, but reassuring that it was just words on a screen. The two sides going their own ways and festering is not only less entertaining (in a morbid, watch the world burn way) but also arguably more likely to spill out into the real world when these opposing world views clash. It seems inevitable that further more bloody conflict will be coming.
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One of the reasons why the ban took so long I reckon. It was earning Twitter a fortune in views.

You are right though, it'll hit the underworld. I expect the barriers to entry on the underworld will keep us safe though. Even Trump was cross at how "low brow" the revellers at the Capitol appeared. Expecting them to align around a platform like EncroChat/ Onion is very unlikely. Facebook groups and WhatsApp presumably the continued tool of choice.
 
Angilion said:
That's no longer true. A handful of companies have such dominance that the only "competition" is what they allow. They'll either buy or ban any other options. Due to the degree of control those few companies have, all it takes is removing the app from Apple and Google app stores and removing payment processing by Visa and Mastercard.

Technically, competition is allowed. In practice, it isn't. Your view is based on a world before widespread use of the internet, smartphones and social media. A world that no longer exists. Even extremely authoritarian regimes have some trouble maintaining their authority against the authority of the few companies controlling communications and payments and do so by controlling those companies (e.g. China).

People created an alternative to Twitter - Parler. Once it gained enough users to be even a potential alternative option, it was shut down by the handful of companies that have almost total control. Your argument no longer applies to reality. Things have changed.
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People on Parler are talking about murdering politicians. The anti-semitism on there is rife as is racism. After Wednesday a spotlight is shining brightly on this and you can't see why Apple, Google and now Amazon want nothing to do with it? There are plenty of billionaires on the right. The Koch family or Mercer family could afford to buy all the hardware to host the right wing social media with pocket change. I think their problem is going to be advertising, not that many companies are going to want their products associated with such speech.

Lets not forget that you can access Parler without an app. Just use the browser on your phone like I do for this website.
 
Fubsy said:
Is it now safer to have all those people unchallenged in their own echo chamber?

I mean, I can only speak for myself when I felt the world might have been a safer place with the two sides arguing none stop on Twitter for all to see and eat popcorn. I don't even have a Twitter account, but would have a read of a thread of comments for entertainment. What goes on is so far removed from my own "reality" I found it scary, but reassuring that it was just words on a screen. The two sides going their own ways and festering is not only less entertaining (in a morbid, watch the world burn way) but also arguably more likely to spill out into the real world when these opposing world views clash. It seems inevitable that further more bloody conflict will be coming.

Social media lol, which idiot brought this upon us all?! Grab the pitchforks!
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Twitter is great. I just use it for news, sport, science and tech. If you want to find extreme views you could find them. It's never been pushed on me like it has on Facebook though. Facebook has to change its algorithm, its sucked so many people into extremist content they'd never have gone looking for on their own.
 
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I popped up a post in the big thread on TDW asking if their members understood the hipocricy of decrying Trump's ban from Twitter as an attack on free speech, while continuing to ban anyone with dissenting views on their own site.

...they banned me and deleted the post :p
 
Fubsy said:
Is it now safer to have all those people unchallenged in their own echo chamber?

I mean, I can only speak for myself when I felt the world might have been a safer place with the two sides arguing none stop on Twitter for all to see and eat popcorn. I don't even have a Twitter account, but would have a read of a thread of comments for entertainment. What goes on is so far removed from my own "reality" I found it scary, but reassuring that it was just words on a screen. The two sides going their own ways and festering is not only less entertaining (in a morbid, watch the world burn way) but also arguably more likely to spill out into the real world when these opposing world views clash. It seems inevitable that further more bloody conflict will be coming.

Social media lol, which idiot brought this upon us all?! Grab the pitchforks!
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They are already in there own echo chamber on Twitter, they follow exactly the specific people they want and get delivered the exact specific messages they want. Its an echo chamber on this massive platform, where Trump and people like him can acquire new followers to his cult of personality. How many times does have it have to be seen, there is no arguments, there is no winning. This forum is exactly the same, people see the exact specifics that they want and the ignore what they don't like, no one ever wins arguments or changes their minds. I fully expect this reply to be ignored by people and them to parrot the same argument's ad infinitum and round we go for eternity.

And how does it make it more likely for something to happen like an insurrection for instance when discussions and plans for it are banished to obscure parts of the internet? How are they going to get new or enough followers, maybe try Myspace? I'm sure loads of people will turn up then.
 
McPhee said:
I popped up a post in the big thread on TDW asking if their members understood the hipocricy of decrying Trump's ban from Twitter as an attack on free speech, while continuing to ban anyone with dissenting views on their own site.

...they banned me and deleted the post :p
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That place is like an infinite echo chamber. With the walls painted with the blood of liberals. I read it on occasion for giggles but really its a full on personality cult. They would have him as president for life in a heartbeat. They worship the ground he walks on. Tragic to view it really is.
 
Calabi said:
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And how does it make it more likely for something to happen like an insurrection for instance when discussions and plans for it are banished to obscure parts of the internet? How are they going to get new or enough followers, maybe try Myspace? I'm sure loads of people will turn up then.
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In addition to what you mention about people homing in on what they want to see and ignoring what they don't like, I absolutely adore the posters that deconstruct a whole post and present you with an argument against a point you didn't make as if it's their specialist subject on Mastermind or something.

As for the likeliness of further events due to being banished, I think it's more of a psychological leap for them as they have been "othered" and shunned from mainstream society. It will only lead to lashing out, similar to incel and other extremist behaviour. Just my opinion man :) from an observer of this behaviour over the years. Can't quite keep up with it all though, it's just a passing interest of mine - I don't even understand why people get involved, as there are literally no prizes on offer and the people that do get somewhere constantly up the ante until they become almost meme-worthy caricatures of one side or the other.
 
McPhee said:
I popped up a post in the big thread on TDW asking if their members understood the hipocricy of decrying Trump's ban from Twitter as an attack on free speech, while continuing to ban anyone with dissenting views on their own site.

...they banned me and deleted the post :p
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I once got banned for a year from a large Christian/Bible forum for calling Jesus a naughty name. On the ban screen it said something like "You have been banned for 1 year for referring to our Lord Jesus Christ as s **************. Perhaps you should take your time think 'What would Jesus Do?' before posting again." I appealed and told them that Jesus would forgive me and reinstate my account - they changed it to a permaban. :D :p
 
Parler social network drops offline after Amazon pulls support

Parler has dropped offline after Amazon pulled support for its so-called "free speech" social network.
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Chief executive John Matze told Fox News on Sunday that "every vendor from text message services to email providers to our lawyers all ditched us too".

"We're going to try our best to get back online as quickly as possible, but we're having a lot of trouble because every vendor we talk to says they won't work with us because if Apple doesn't approve and Google doesn't approve, they won't," he added.
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Jono8 said:
Wait, Parler used Amazon to host?

LMAO.
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Yup.

They had back-ups, and reckoned it would take about a week to get back up and running. But apparently that's now looking somewhat less likely now, as they've been banned by a bunch of other services too, inc. GitHub with little warning.

Also, they were hacked shortly before they went offline. Over 70TB of data was dumped from their servers, including personal information and geolocation data. So there's a high chance it's over for Parler now, regardless.
 
Taking away idiots voices it what makes shooty idiots get/ feel threatened and shooty.

Are the righteous gonna purge everything now who's next?
Is there a list of alternative social media sites?
I've heard of parler at least :p
 
They're all off to Gab now, which is basically the social network for alt-right nutters who are too extreme for Parler, let alone Twitter. Gab had a run-in with big tech companies following an incident a couple of years ago, and managed to get back up and running using alternative resources. So they're somewhat less likely to go offline.
 
Colonel_Klinck said:
I think their problem is going to be advertising, not that many companies are going to want their products associated with such speech.
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Advertising revenue is what it comes down to at the end of the day at the end of the day. Social media (and media generally) want to create and invite a certain level of polarization, controversy and conflict to keep users on their platforms to maximize ad revenue.

At the same time it's a balancing act because advertiser's don't want to be associate with extreme content/platforms. Also, we've reached the point where the polarization and division of world views online is beginning to spill over into wider society and is creating real world consequences like we saw last week.

In this dynamic it's not the government, social media companies or even the public who are going to decide how things play out. I suspect it's the advertisers who will ultimately be the ones making the call about the limits of free speech.
 
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McPhee said:
I popped up a post in the big thread on TDW asking if their members understood the hipocricy of decrying Trump's ban from Twitter as an attack on free speech, while continuing to ban anyone with dissenting views on their own site.

...they banned me and deleted the post :p
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This has made my day :p
 
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